One of the important things to know is that the AFIs have been delivering support to indigenous businesses for 35 years now. They know what their businesses need, but they need the flexibility. When they are put into this little box of $40,000 and $10,000 non-repayable, it doesn't give them too much flexibility to support a business that might need $80,000 or might need other support services. It makes it very difficult.
They need business support services. We have to work with each individual business to ensure that they are responding to this crisis in a meaningful way, so that they can survive through this. The support that has been announced to date is going to take us to March 31, 2021. What are we going to do after that? We really have to come up with another strategy to ensure that, in this uncertain time, we're going to last longer.
These businesses are hanging on. Our network has been suffering from reduced funding levels for over 20 years now. If we return business support, flexibility for larger loans, more non-repayables so that the indigenous business is not going to be strapped with all that debt, and a more timely response.... We should not be responding to the indigenous community two months after all the other Canadian responses are there.